Living encyclopedia of plant fragrances
Special plants have been grown in the fragrant garden in Erlangen (Bavaria) for over 30 years.About 120 aromatic native and exotic species grow on the area of almost 1 ha.Visitors can smell them, learn about their spices and how they are used in medicine or in the cosmetics industry.
From April to October, guides are available in the garden, which is open every day.Clean aroma gardens are a rarity in Germany, but some larger premises have separate zones.Fragrant gardens are also being established more and more often here. It is worth visiting the garden in Muszyna (Lesser Poland Voivodeship) and the arboretum in Bolestraszyce near Przemyśl.
Advantages of fragrant plants
Flower scents support the plant reproduction process. The leaves' scents, on the other hand, play a different role. They scare away hungry animals, i.e. they protect the plant from being eaten. What insects do not like can be liked by people. Therefore, let's grow many aromatic plants, such as thyme, sage, rosemary.They serve as spices, and most often come from Mediterranean regions, like warm, sunny positions and quite barren soil…. and the scent of flowers
The smell of a specific rose changes throughout the day, therefore it is not easy to describe. It is most intense in the sunny morning hours or after a short warm rain. Then the light essential oils that the roses produce in their flower petals rise into the air. In cold weather, the plant saves its sweet perfume, because the bees will not appear anyway.There are plants, e.g. mottled pictures, that prepare a rot that attracts flies.
Sweet night scent
Angel trumpets (brugmansje), ornamental tobacco, evening primrose and evening primrose, as well as many other plants only start to smell at dusk. Night flowers often have a heavy, sweetish aroma. It depends on its intensity and our sensitivity whether we perceive the smell as pleasant or irritating or even repulsive.Night flower fragrances are loved by moths.Lured insects fly from flower to flower like hummingbirds to suck nectar.
During this feast, they transfer pollen, fulfilling the same task as daytime insects. In the photo, the night glacier butterfly is reaching with its proboscis to the bottom of the narrow calyx of a honeysuckle flower.
Aromatic delicacies straight from the beds and flower beds
The most famous fragrant plants:
1. Lemon verbena has an intense citrus scent that is released when the stems are shaken. Use the leaves for infusions and seasoning.
2. The chocolate cosmos develops dark brown flowers, the scent of which is especially liked by children.
3. The fragrant Helenium aromaticum has head-shaped flowers that smell like jelly beans when rubbed.
4. Heliotrope smells like vanilla, which is why it is eagerly planted in balcony boxes.
5. Artemisiae has cola-scented leaves that can be used to flavor various drinks.
6. Pineapple sage has fragrant leaves and pretty flowers to spice up and decorate a variety of foods.
